The Silence
by silverarrow65
Summary: It's deafening.


**A/N: Here's a oneshot for you guys. I'm a little depressed today, as you'll later find out by reading. I'm a total fail when it comes to writing emotion, so sorry if you guys hate it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

_Italics = a flashback, and for the very last italic, the future._

**

* * *

  
**

When it's quiet, there is very little in the world that can make you smile again.

* * *

"_N-Naruto kun?" Hinata asked timidly._

_His eyes glanced at her briefly before they went back to glaring at the air in front of him._

_She lowered herself on the ground. "I heard that Sasuke came back." She said casually._

"_Yeah," he said bitterly. "Sakura dumped me the second she heard he came back."_

_The silence passed between them. Naruto pulled strands of grass out at random, not knowing where to channel his frustration._

_Hinata mumbled something incoherent._

"_What?" _

_She sighed. "If Sakura is willing to dump you on a moment's notice, obviously she doesn't love you."_

_Naruto stood and grunted in frustration. "But I love her!"_

_Hinata averted her eyes to the ground, very still. Mutely, she stood. Still not looking at him, she whispered, barely audible._

"_I think that's where you're wrong." She wrapped her thin arms softly around his frame. "We've all been hurt before; we've all been wrong." _

_Naruto was very still. She turned away from him, withdrawing her arms back to their usual position._

"_I know you can get through this. It's that strength of yours I admire." She sighed, before running off back into the bustling streets of Konoha._

_For the first time ever since the breakup, Naruto's breathing had sped up. A kiss from Sakura was pleasant. A touch from Hinata was just plain heavenly. And he smiled after her._

"_Maybe you're right, Hinata."_

_

* * *

_

One often meets their destiny on the road they take to avoid it.

* * *

_However much he longed to be with her, he was afraid. Love had a power that was plain frightening; the control Sakura had over Naruto had lasted nearly 10 years. He didn't want to be at someone's mercy again._

_Going on a mission with Sakura was supposed to extinguish this. Originally, he had wanted Tenten to accompany him; Ino was just too much to handle. However, Tenten had discovered not a month ago she was pregnant. Neji refused to put Tenten and the unborn children (triplets) at risk. _

_For days, Sakura and Naruto moved through the forest in deafening quiet; the awkwardness of their last meeting still weighing on them heavily. _

_Out of the blue, rogue nin had attacked them. This would not have been a threat normally, but there were not normal rogue nin. They had studied and been trained in Forbidden Techniques, and in a matter of moments, Naruto was paralyzed and Sakura was bleeding to death, neck placed tenderly under the cruel blade of a rogue. _

_Hinata had saved them. _

_

* * *

  
_

The day was raining. It was crying, for her.

* * *

…_but not herself._

_

* * *

  
_

Cold winds blew harshly through Konoha. The sweet, merciful Hinata was gone. Innocence no longer remained in Konoha. The image of a bloodied corpse stood out in everyone's minds.

* * *

"_Sakura!"_

"_Naruto, I'm trying everything. Calm down."_

"_It's not something to be goddamn calm about! You know she could die?"_

_Eyes blazing, she met his gaze evenly. Grabbing him by the collar, she whispered dangerously at him,_

"_You think I don't know that? I work as a med-nin, Naruto. It pains me to watch someone die at my hands." She threw him off._

_

* * *

  
_

The Hyuga stood at the area, heads ducked down. Hanabi was sobbing softly. Neji's face was stone-cold. Hiashi hadn't eaten in days.

* * *

"_What are you saying?" he pleaded desperately._

"_I-I'm sorry. I tried everything." Sakura's face was twisted in obvious pain, threatening tears. _

_He tried to control his temper. But there is often little control when something like this happens. _

"_I..I told you…" he breathed angrily. "to save her." With unreadable fury, he slapped her._

_

* * *

  
_

The three remaining Konoha girls were all silent. They couldn't bear to look at each other without remembering that one of their group was missing, and wouldn't ever be found. The slap Naruto had delivered Sakura left a mark that would never fade. It was a mark of another failure; another life she had failed to revive.

* * *

_She wasn't angry. She sat down by him and drew him into a hug. Families of her dead patients often flipped out much worse than Naruto had._

_He sobbed an apology into her neck. She just nodded and stroked his back comfortingly. _

_

* * *

  
_

Tsunade was in her office. Her neglected paperwork was strewn messily over the floor. Cracked, empty bottles of sake littered her desk. She took another swig, sighing, before rubbing her temples. Another one. Gone.

She shook her head, eyes shut. Why were they always so young?

* * *

_The return trip to Konoha was the longest thing both shinobi had ever experienced. The worst thing was everyone was in a panic, since Hinata had snuck out to help the two. A dozen peoples approached them as soon as they arrived back._

_The news landed a blood chilling blow. _

_

* * *

  
_

Team 8 stood right by, watching on with heavy hearts. Kiba looked down, unable to make eye contact with anyone. Shino tossed a small rose onto the stone. Akamaru howled and whimpered softly into Kiba's knee. Kurenai wasn't present. She was at the training grounds where the team was first formed. And she broke down and cried for her beloved student. But not even a student; more of a daughter. The progress she had achieved and the modest joy she experienced at each success had made Kurenai's days brighter.

Hinata was the only one who could deliver the most meaningful messages without needing to speak. Her quiet messages lived in everyone's hearts, and now, they threw them away with her, trying to forget her existence.

But it's hard to forget.

* * *

_Naruto had gone home, not even bothering to tell Tsunade. He hadn't appeared out of his home for almost a week. _

_

* * *

  
_

He wasn't present. He was back where she had told him he was strong enough. He was where he had realized her loved her.

The rain was an absolute torrent, soaking through to his skin icily. He barely noticed it.

He sat down in the same spot she had found him, weakly hoping she would come back to him.

He whispered her name slowly, waiting until the name no longer held meaning.

He did the same thing everyday after the funeral.

_

* * *

  
_

To lose a friend means crying, pain, and mourning. To lose a loved one means silence. There is no expression to show the splitting heartache. There are no words to fill the quiet with meaning.

**A/N: I know, depressing and short. Just what you need on a Monday, am I right? Reviews please. Thanks for reading. **


End file.
